Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Persians , Carthaginians , and Romans , among others. Crucifixion has been used in some countries as recently as the 21st century.
126-476: The crucifixion of Jesus is central to Christianity and the cross (sometimes depicted with Jesus nailed to it ) is Christianity's preeminent religious symbol . His death is the most prominent example of crucifixion in history, which in turn has led many cultures in the modern world to associate the execution method closely with Jesus and with Christian spirituality. Other figures in Christianity (such as
252-414: A cornu , or "horn," leading some scholars to believe it may have had a pointed shape designed to torment the crucified person. This would be consistent with Seneca's observation of victims with their private parts impaled. In Roman-style crucifixion, the condemned could take up to a few days to die, but death was sometimes hastened by human action. "The attending Roman guards could leave the site only after
378-412: A rock-hewn tomb , with Nicodemus assisting. The three Synoptic gospels also describe Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross, a crowd of people mocking Jesus along with the other two crucified men, darkness from the 6th to the 9th hour, and the temple veil being torn from top to bottom. The Synoptic Gospels also mention several witnesses, including a centurion , and several women who watched from
504-475: A spectacle and an example . According to Roman law, if a slave killed his or her owner, all of the owner's slaves would be crucified as punishment. Both men and women were crucified. Tacitus writes in his Annals that when Lucius Pedanius Secundus was murdered by a slave, some in the Senate tried to prevent the mass crucifixion of four hundred of his slaves because there were so many women and children, but in
630-404: A Persian general at the hands of Athenians in about 479 BC: "They nailed him to a plank and hung him up ... this Artayctes who suffered death by crucifixion." The Commentary on Herodotus by How and Wells remarks: "They crucified him with hands and feet stretched out and nailed to cross-pieces; cf. vii.33. This act, supposedly unusual on the part of Greeks, may be explained by the enormity of
756-442: A cross is made of posts (plural) and nails and that the arms of the crucified are outstretched. Speaking of the generic execution cross, Irenaeus ( c. 130–202 ), a Christian writer, describes it as composed of an upright and a transverse beam, sometimes with a small projection in the upright. New Testament writings about the crucifixion of Jesus do not specify the shape of that cross, but subsequent early writings liken it to
882-594: A cross was raised at low tide; when the high tide came, the convict was submerged under water up to the head, prolonging death for many days In 1597, 26 Christian Martyrs were nailed to crosses at Nagasaki , Japan. Among those executed were Saints Paulo Miki , Philip of Jesus and Pedro Bautista , a Spanish Franciscan . The executions marked the beginning of a long history of persecution of Christianity in Japan , which continued until its decriminalization in 1871. Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus
1008-493: A distance, two of whom were present during the burial . The Gospel of Luke is the only gospel to omit the detail of the sour wine mix that was offered to Jesus on a reed, while only Mark and John describe Joseph actually taking the body down off the cross. There are several details that are only mentioned in a single gospel account. For instance, only the Gospel of Matthew mentions an earthquake, resurrected saints who went to
1134-399: A final thrust through the throat. The corpse was left on the cross for three days. If one condemned to crucifixion died in prison, his body was pickled and the punishment executed on the dead body. Under Toyotomi Hideyoshi , one of the great 16th-century unifiers, crucifixion upside down (i.e, sakasaharitsuke ) was frequently used. Water crucifixion ( mizuharitsuke ) awaited mostly Christians:
1260-490: A literary and theological creation. Geza Vermes noted the verse is cited in Aramaic rather than the usual Hebrew, and that by the time of Jesus, this phrase had become a proverbial saying in common usage. Compared to the accounts in the other Gospels, which he describes as "theologically correct and reassuring", he considers this phrase "unexpected, disquieting and in consequence more probable". He describes it as bearing "all
1386-426: A number of analytical scenarios of that topic. In the 20th century, forensic pathologist Frederick Zugibe performed a number of crucifixion experiments by using ropes to hang human subjects at various angles and hand positions. His experiments support an angled suspension, and a two-beamed cross, and perhaps some form of foot support, given that in an Aufbinden form of suspension from a straight stake (as used by
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#17327649413601512-474: A passage by Josephus, where he states that at the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), "the soldiers out of rage and hatred, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest". Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities. While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making
1638-564: A place popularly called the Garden Tomb , has been promoted since the 19th century. The Gospels describe various women at the crucifixion , some of whom are named. According to Mark, many women were present, among them Mary Magdalene , Mary, mother of James and Mary of Clopas , commonly known as " the Three Marys ". The Gospel of Matthew also mentions several women being present, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and
1764-614: A plank", together with anaskolopizo ( ἀνασκολοπίζω " impale "). In earlier pre-Roman Greek texts anastauro usually means "impale". The Greek used in the Christian New Testament uses four verbs, three of them based upon stauros ( σταυρός ), usually translated "cross". The most common term is stauroo ( σταυρόω ), "to crucify", occurring 46 times; sustauroo ( συσταυρόω ), "to crucify with" or "alongside" occurs five times, while anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), "to crucify again" occurs only once at
1890-505: A reconciliation, e.g., based on the use of Roman timekeeping in John, since Roman timekeeping began at midnight and this would mean being before Pilate at the 6th hour was 6 a.m., yet others have rejected the arguments. Several scholars have argued that the modern precision of marking the time of day should not be read back into the gospel accounts, written at a time when no standardization of timepieces, or exact recording of hours and minutes
2016-565: A sign above his head stating "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" which, according to the Gospel of John , was in three languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Greek), and then divided his garments and cast lots for his seamless robe. According to the Gospel of John, the Roman soldiers did not break Jesus's legs, as they did to the two crucified convicts (breaking the legs hastened the onset of death), as Jesus
2142-527: A specific place for carrying out executions, situated outside the Esquiline Gate , and had a specific area reserved for the execution of slaves by crucifixion. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in that place, and the crossbeam, with the condemned person perhaps already nailed to it, would then be attached to the post. The person executed may have been attached to the cross by rope, though nails and other sharp materials are mentioned in
2268-515: A stake, or affixed to a tree, upright pole (a crux simplex ), or to a combination of an upright (in Latin, stipes ) and a crossbeam (in Latin, patibulum ). Seneca the Younger wrote: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet". Crucifixion
2394-420: A statement that Jesus was 72 hours in the tomb, and that the many references to a resurrection on the third day do not require three literal nights. In Mark 15:25 crucifixion takes place at the third hour (9 a.m. ) and Jesus's death at the ninth hour (3 p.m.). In John 19:14 Jesus is still before Pilate at the sixth hour. Scholars have presented a number of arguments to deal with the issue, some suggesting
2520-459: A tree, not dedicated to any particular gods, and flogging him to death. Tertullian mentions a 1st-century AD case in which trees were used for crucifixion, but Seneca the Younger earlier used the phrase infelix lignum (unfortunate wood) for the transom ("patibulum") or the whole cross. Plautus and Plutarch are the two main sources for accounts of criminals carrying their own patibula to the upright stipes . Notorious mass crucifixions followed
2646-544: A wise man, ... He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles ;... And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross ... Most modern scholars agree that while this Josephus passage (called the Testimonium Flavianum ) includes some later interpolations , it originally consisted of an authentic nucleus with a reference to
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#17327649413602772-855: Is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem . It is marked by nine of the fourteen Stations of the Cross . It passes the Ecce Homo Church and the last five stations are inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . There is no reference to a woman named Veronica in the Gospels, but sources such as Acta Sanctorum describe her as a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha , gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. The precise location of
2898-556: Is based on the New International Version . An early non-Christian reference to the crucifixion of Jesus is likely to be Mara Bar-Serapion's letter to his son, written some time after AD 73 but before the 3rd century AD. The letter includes no Christian themes and the author is presumed to be neither Jewish nor Christian. The letter refers to the retributions that followed the unjust treatment of three wise men: Socrates , Pythagoras , and "the wise king" of
3024-399: Is believed by the archeologists to confirm the use of this method in ancient Rome. The length of time required to reach death could range from hours to days depending on method, the victim's health, and the environment. A theory attributed to Pierre Barbet held that, when the whole body weight was supported by the stretched arms, the typical cause of death was asphyxiation . He wrote that
3150-416: Is crucified, entombed , and resurrected from the dead. In each Gospel these five events in the life of Jesus are treated with more intense detail than any other portion of that Gospel's narrative. Scholars note that the reader receives an almost hour-by-hour account of what is happening. After arriving at Golgotha , Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh or gall to drink. Both the Gospel of Mark and
3276-400: Is discredited as the primary cause of death from crucifixion. There is scholarly support for several possible non-asphyxiation causes of death: heart failure or arrhythmia , hypovolemic shock , acidosis , dehydration , and pulmonary embolism . Death could result from any combination of those factors, or from other causes, including sepsis following infection due to the wounds caused by
3402-414: Is that as a place of public execution, Calvary may have been strewn with the skulls of abandoned victims (which would be contrary to Jewish burial traditions, but not Roman). Another is that Calvary is named after a nearby cemetery (which is consistent with both of the proposed modern sites). A third is that the name was derived from the physical contour, which would be more consistent with the singular use of
3528-468: Is verse 5:33: The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter. The corpus of hadith provides contradictory statements about
3654-487: The Ancient Roman custom of crucifixion may have developed out of a primitive custom of arbori suspendere —hanging on an arbor infelix ("inauspicious tree") dedicated to the gods of the nether world. This hypothesis is rejected by William A. Oldfather, who shows that this form of execution (the supplicium more maiorum , punishment in accordance with the custom of our ancestors) consisted of suspending someone from
3780-706: The Epistle to the Hebrews 6:6 . Prospegnumi ( προσπήγνυμι ), "to fix or fasten to, impale, crucify" occurs only once, at the Acts of the Apostles 2:23 . The English term cross derives from the Latin word crux , which classically referred to a tree or any construction of wood used to hang criminals as a form of execution. The term later came to refer specifically to a cross. The related term crucifix derives from
3906-460: The Gospel of Mark , was crucified at the 3rd hour (9 a.m.), and died by the 9th hour of the day (at around 3:00 p.m.). During this time, the soldiers affixed a sign to the top of the cross stating " Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews " which, according to the Gospel of John (John 19:20), was written in three languages (Hebrew, Latin, and Greek). They then divided his garments among themselves and cast lots for his seamless robe, according to
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4032-567: The IHS monogram and a cross to symbolize the crucifixion. The placing of the nails in the hands, or the wrists is also uncertain. Some theories suggest that the Greek word cheir ( χείρ ) for hand includes the wrist and that the Romans were generally trained to place nails through Destot's space (between the capitate and lunate bones ) without fracturing any bones. Another theory suggests that
4158-570: The Nazis in the Dachau concentration camp during World War II ), death comes rather quickly. The Gospels describe various last words that Jesus said while on the cross, as follows: The only words of Jesus on the cross mentioned in the Mark and Matthew accounts, this is a quotation of Psalm 22 . Since other verses of the same Psalm are cited in the crucifixion accounts, some commentators consider it
4284-511: The Passion , Jesus's suffering and redemptive death by crucifixion are the central aspects of Christian theology concerning the doctrines of salvation and atonement . Paul is the earliest surviving source (outside of the Gospels ) to document Jesus's crucifixion. Scholars have used Paul's chronology as evidence for the date of the crucifixion. However, the earliest detailed accounts of
4410-533: The Tacitus reference to the execution of Jesus by Pilate to be genuine, and of historical value as an independent Roman source. Eddy and Boyd state that it is now "firmly established" that Tacitus provides a non-Christian confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus. Another possible reference to the crucifixion ("hanging", cf. Luke 23:39 ; Galatians 3:13 ) is found in the Babylonian Talmud : On
4536-532: The Third Servile War in 73–71 BCE (the slave rebellion led by Spartacus ), and other Roman civil wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Crassus ordered the crucifixion of 6,000 of Spartacus' followers who had been hunted down and captured after the slave defeat in battle. Josephus says that in the siege that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Roman soldiers crucified Jewish captives before
4662-502: The Tokugawa Shogunate . Several related crucifixion techniques were used. Petra Schmidt, in "Capital Punishment in Japan", writes: Execution by crucifixion included, first of all, hikimawashi (i.e, being paraded about town on horseback); then the unfortunate was tied to a cross made from one vertical and two horizontal poles. The cross was raised, the convict speared several times from two sides, and eventually killed with
4788-642: The University of Glasgow . He wrote a popular set of Bible commentaries on the New Testament that sold 1.5 million copies. Barclay's father was a bank manager. Barclay attended Dalziel High School in Motherwell and then studied classics at the University of Glasgow from 1925 to 1929, before studying divinity. He studied at the University during the year 1932-33. After being ordained in
4914-420: The hand as distinct from the arm some other word could be added, as "ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα" (he wounded the end of the χείρ, i.e., "he wounded him in the hand". A possibility that does not require tying is that the nails were inserted just above the wrist, through the soft tissue , between the two bones of the forearm (the radius and the ulna ). A foot-rest ( suppedaneum ) attached to the cross, perhaps for
5040-456: The stipes providing some semblance of modesty if viewed from the front. Such concessions were "unique" and not made outside a Jewish context. Several sources mention some sort of seat fastened to the stipes to help support the person's body, thereby prolonging the person's suffering and humiliation by preventing the asphyxiation caused by hanging without support. Justin Martyr calls the seat
5166-466: The 1st century AD, the time when the gospel accounts of the death of Jesus were written, likened it to the letter T (the Greek letter tau , which had the numeric value of 300), and to the position assumed by Moses in Exodus 17:11–12 . Justin Martyr (100–165) explicitly says the cross of Christ was of two-beam shape: "That lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of
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5292-632: The 1st century AD, is an unidentified heel bone with a spike discovered in a Jerusalem gravesite, now held by the Israel Antiquities Authority and displayed in the Israel Museum . There is no consensus regarding the exact date of the crucifixion of Jesus, although it is generally agreed by biblical scholars that it was on a Friday on or near Passover ( Nisan 14), during the governorship of Pontius Pilate (who ruled AD 26–36). Various approaches have been used to estimate
5418-411: The 2nd century who speak of the execution cross describe the crucified person's arms as outstretched, not attached to a single stake: Lucian speaks of Prometheus as crucified "above the ravine with his hands outstretched". He also says that the shape of the letter Τ (the Greek letter tau ) was that of the wooden instrument used for crucifying. Artemidorus , another writer of the same period, says that
5544-715: The Church of Scotland in 1933, he was minister at Trinity Church in Renfrew from 1933 to 1946, afterwards returning to the University of Glasgow as lecturer in the New Testament from 1947, and as Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism from 1963. Barclay described himself theologically as a "liberal evangelical." Barclay expressed his personal views in his A Spiritual Autobiography (1977), and Clive L. Rawlins elaborates in William Barclay: prophet of goodwill:
5670-494: The Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:4), Jesus was raised from the dead ("on the third day" counting the day of crucifixion as the first) and according to the canonical gospels, appeared to his disciples on different occasions before ascending to heaven. The account given in Acts of the Apostles says that Jesus remained with the apostles for 40 days, whereas the account in the Gospel of Luke makes no clear distinction between
5796-417: The Gospel of John. The Gospel of John also states that, after Jesus's death, one soldier (named in extra-Biblical tradition as Longinus ) pierced his side with a spear to be certain that he had died, then blood and water gushed from the wound. The Bible describes seven statements that Jesus made while he was on the cross, as well as several supernatural events that occurred. Collectively referred to as
5922-454: The Gospel of Luke as the penitent thief and the impenitent thief . The Gospel of John mentions the soldiers and "the disciple whom Jesus loved ", who is with the women. The Gospels also tell of the arrival, after the death of Jesus, of Joseph of Arimathea (in the four Gospels) and of Nicodemus (only in John). Whereas most Christians believe the gibbet on which Jesus was executed
6048-433: The Gospel of Matthew record that he refused this. He was then crucified and hanged between two convicts. According to some translations of the original Greek, the convicts may have been bandits or Jewish rebels. According to the Gospel of Mark, he endured the torment of crucifixion from the third hour (between approximately 9 a.m. and noon), until his death at the ninth hour, corresponding to about 3 p.m. The soldiers affixed
6174-432: The Greek word for hand also includes the forearm and that the nails were placed near the radius and ulna of the forearm . Ropes may have also been used to fasten the hands in addition to the use of nails. Another issue of debate has been the use of a hypopodium as a standing platform to support the feet, given that the hands may not have been able to support the weight. In the 17th century Rasmus Bartholin considered
6300-481: The Jews. Some scholars see little doubt that the reference to the execution of the " king of the Jews " is about the crucifixion of Jesus, while others place less value in the letter, given the ambiguity in the reference. In the Antiquities of the Jews (written about AD 93) Jewish historian Josephus stated ( Ant 18.3 ) that Jesus was crucified by Pilate, writing that: Now there was about this time Jesus,
6426-498: The Latin crucifixus or cruci fixus , past participle passive of crucifigere or cruci figere , meaning "to crucify" or "to fasten to a cross". In the Roman Empire , the gibbet (instrument of execution) for crucifixions took on many shapes. Seneca the Younger ( c. 4 BCE–65 CE ) states: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to
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#17327649413606552-506: The Latin word for skull ( calvaria ), which is used in the Vulgate translation of "place of a skull", the explanation given in all four Gospels of the Aramaic word Gûlgaltâ (transliterated into the Greek as Γολγοθᾶ (Golgotha)), which was the name of the place where Jesus was crucified. The text does not indicate why it was so designated, but several theories have been put forward. One
6678-624: The Persian ceremony of royal adoration . In Carthage , crucifixion was an established mode of execution, which could even be imposed on generals for suffering a major defeat. The oldest crucifixion may be a post-mortem one mentioned by Herodotus. Polycrates , the tyrant of Samos , was put to death in 522 BCE by the Persians, and his dead body was then crucified. The Greek and Latin words corresponding to "crucifixion" applied to many different forms of painful execution, including being impaled on
6804-528: The Roman period roughly according to the manner in which the crucifixion of Jesus is described in the gospels. The crucified man was identified as Yehohanan ben Hagkol and probably died about AD 70, around the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome. The analyses at the Hadassah Medical School estimated that he died in his late 20s. Another relevant archaeological find, which also dates to
6930-546: The Temple is torn in two. Matthew follows Mark, but mentions an earthquake and the resurrection of saints. Luke also follows Mark, although he describes the rebels as common criminals, one of whom defends Jesus, who in turn promises that he (Jesus) and the criminal will be together in paradise. Luke portrays Jesus as impassive in the face of his crucifixion. John includes several of the same elements as those found in Mark, though they are treated differently. The comparison below
7056-475: The Younger recounts: "I see crosses there, not just of one kind but made in many different ways: some have their victims with head down to the ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." One source claims that for Jews (apparently not for others), a man would be crucified with his back to the cross as is traditionally depicted, while a woman would be nailed facing her cross, probably with her back to onlookers, or at least with
7182-498: The apostle Saint Peter ) are traditionally believed to have undergone crucifixion as well. Today, limited numbers of Christians voluntarily undergo non-lethal crucifixions as a devotional practice. Ancient Greek has two verbs for crucify: anastauroo ( ἀνασταυρόω ), from stauros (which in modern Greek only means " cross " but which in antiquity was used for any kind of wooden pole, pointed or blunt, bare or with attachments) and apotumpanizo ( ἀποτυμπανίζω ) "crucify on
7308-572: The appearances of a genuine cry". Raymond Brown likewise comments that he finds "no persuasive argument against attributing to the Jesus of Mark/Matt the literal sentiment of feeling forsaken expressed in the Psalm quote". William Barclay (theologian) William Barclay CBE (5 December 1907 – 24 January 1978) was a Scottish author, radio and television presenter, Church of Scotland minister, and Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at
7434-439: The authorised biography (1998). They included: The journalist James Douglas suggested Barclay was also "reticent about the inspiration of Scripture , critical of the doctrine of substitutionary atonement , and given to views about the virgin birth and miracles which conservatives would find either heretical or imprecise." While professor, he decided to dedicate his life to "making the best biblical scholarship available to
7560-520: The average reader". The eventual result was the Daily Study Bible , a set of 17 commentaries on the New Testament , published by Saint Andrew Press , the Church of Scotland's publishing house. Despite the series name, these commentaries do not set a program of regular study. Rather, they go verse by verse through Barclay's own translation of the New Testament, listing and examining every possible interpretation known to Barclay and providing all
7686-536: The background information he considered possibly relevant, all in layman's terms. The commentaries were fully updated with the help of William Barclay's son, Ronnie Barclay, in recent years and they are now known as the New Daily Study Bible series. The 17 volumes of the set were all best-sellers and continue to be so to this day. A companion set giving a similar treatment to the Old Testament
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#17327649413607812-567: The canonical gospels, Jesus was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin , and then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged , and finally crucified by the Romans . The Gospel of John portrays his death as a sacrifice for sin . Jesus was stripped of his clothing and offered vinegar mixed with myrrh or gall (likely posca ) to drink after saying "I am thirsty". At Golgotha , he was then hung between two convicted thieves and, according to
7938-404: The city and that Roman soldiers were assigned to guard the tomb, while Mark is the only one to state the time of the crucifixion (the third hour, or 9 a.m. – although it was probably as late as noon) and the centurion's report of Jesus's death. The Gospel of Luke's unique contributions to the narrative include Jesus's words to the women who were mourning, one criminal's rebuke of the other,
8064-567: The condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have traditionally depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals, the person being crucified was usually stripped naked. Writings by Seneca the Younger state some victims suffered a stick forced upwards through their groin. Despite its frequent use by the Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape criticism by some eminent Roman orators. Cicero , for example, described crucifixion as "a most cruel and disgusting punishment", and suggested that "the very mention of
8190-532: The condemned would have severe difficulty inhaling, due to hyper-expansion of the chest muscles and lungs. The condemned would therefore have to draw himself up by the arms, leading to exhaustion , or have his feet supported by tying or by a wood block. When no longer able to lift himself, the condemned would die within a few minutes. This theory has been supported by multiple scholars. Other scholars, including Frederick Zugibe , posit other causes of death. Zugibe suspended test subjects with their arms at 60° to 70° from
8316-599: The condemned. Frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T ( crux commissa ) or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism ( crux immissa ). The most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion depicts an individual on a T-shaped cross. It is a graffito found in a taberna (hostel for wayfarers) in Puteoli, dating to the time of Trajan or Hadrian (late 1st century to early 2nd century CE). Writers in
8442-426: The cross naked. If the crucifixion took place in an established place of execution, the vertical beam ( stipes ) might be permanently embedded in the ground. In this case, the condemned person's wrists would first be nailed to the patibulum , and then he or she would be hoisted off the ground with ropes to hang from the elevated patibulum while it was fastened to the stipes . Next the feet or ankles would be nailed to
8568-473: The cross of Christ represented in the crossed spits used to roast the Passover lamb . In popular depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus (possibly because in translations of John 20:25 the wounds are described as being "in his hands"), Jesus is shown with nails in his hands. But in Greek the word "χείρ", usually translated as "hand", could refer to the entire portion of the arm below the elbow, and to denote
8694-405: The cross should be far removed not only from a Roman citizen's body, but from his mind, his eyes, his ears". Elsewhere he says, "It is a crime to bind a Roman citizen; to scourge him is a wickedness; to put him to death is almost parricide. What shall I say of crucifying him? So guilty an action cannot by any possibility be adequately expressed by any name bad enough for it." Frequently, the legs of
8820-417: The cross which Christ would undergo. For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb." Irenaeus , who died around the end of the 2nd century, speaks of the cross as having "five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in
8946-434: The cross, about halfway down, which could have served a similar purpose. In 1968, archaeologists discovered at Giv'at ha-Mivtar in northeast Jerusalem the remains of one Jehohanan , who was crucified in the 1st century CE. The remains included a heel bone with a nail driven through it from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, perhaps because of striking a knot in the upright beam, which prevented it being extracted from
9072-417: The crowd of mourners following him, quoting Jesus as saying "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things when
9198-444: The crucifixion of Jesus." Another preferred date among scholars is Friday, 3 April, AD 33. The consensus of scholarship is that the New Testament accounts represent a crucifixion occurring on a Friday, but a Thursday or Wednesday crucifixion have also been proposed. Some scholars explain a Thursday crucifixion based on a "double sabbath" caused by an extra Passover sabbath falling on Thursday dusk to Friday afternoon, ahead of
9324-414: The crucifixion remains a matter of conjecture, but the biblical accounts indicate that it was outside the city walls of Jerusalem, accessible to passers-by and observable from some distance away. Eusebius identified its location only as being north of Mount Zion , which is consistent with the two most popularly suggested sites of modern times. Calvary as an English name for the place is derived from
9450-597: The crucifixion. In Western Christianity , before the Renaissance usually four nails would be depicted, with the feet side by side. After the Renaissance most depictions use three nails, with one foot placed on the other. Nails are almost always depicted in art, although Romans sometimes just tied the victims to the cross. The tradition also carries to Christian emblems , e.g. the Jesuits use three nails under
9576-479: The death of Jesus are contained in the four canonical gospels . In the synoptic gospels, Jesus predicts his death in three separate places. All four Gospels conclude with an extended narrative of Jesus's arrest , initial trial at the Sanhedrin and final trial at Pilate's court , where Jesus is flogged, condemned to death, is led to the place of crucifixion initially carrying his cross before Roman soldiers induce Simon of Cyrene to carry it, and then Jesus
9702-403: The end tradition prevailed and they were all executed. Although not conclusive evidence for female crucifixion by itself, the most ancient image of a Roman crucifixion may depict a crucified woman, whether real or imaginary. Crucifixion was such a gruesome and humiliating way to die that the subject was somewhat of a taboo in Roman culture, and few crucifixions were specifically documented. One of
9828-535: The eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy . Anyone who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf." But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of the Passover. Although
9954-529: The events of Easter Sunday and the Ascension. Most biblical scholars agree that the author of Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a follow-up volume to the Gospel of Luke account, and the two works must be considered as a whole. In Mark, Jesus is crucified along with two rebels, and the sun goes dark or is obscured for three hours. Jesus calls out to God , then gives a shout and dies. The curtain of
10080-534: The execution of Jesus by Pilate. James Dunn states that there is "broad consensus" among scholars regarding the nature of an authentic reference to the crucifixion of Jesus in the Testimonium . Early in the second century another reference to the crucifixion of Jesus was made by Tacitus , generally considered one of the greatest Roman historians. Writing in The Annals (c. AD 116), Tacitus described
10206-424: The first use of crucifixion under Islamic rule, attributing it variously to Muhammad himself (for murder and robbery of a shepherd) or to the second caliph Umar (applied to two slaves who murdered their mistress). Classical Islamic jurisprudence applies the verse 5:33 chiefly to highway robbers, as a hadd (scripturally prescribed) punishment. The preference for crucifixion over the other punishments mentioned in
10332-399: The foot. A first inaccurate account of the length of the nail led some to believe that it had been driven through both heels, suggesting that the man had been placed in a sort of sidesaddle position, but the true length of the nail, 11.5 centimetres ( 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches), suggests instead that in this case of crucifixion the heels were nailed to opposite sides of the upright. As of 2011,
10458-480: The former term meant an upright stake or pole, but in Koine Greek it was used also to mean a cross. The Latin word crux was also applied to objects other than a cross. Early Christian writers who speak of the shape of the particular gibbet on which Jesus died invariably describe it as having a cross-beam. For instance, the Epistle of Barnabas , which was certainly earlier than 135, and may have been of
10584-404: The ground; some impale their private parts; others stretch out their arms on the gibbet." According to Josephus , during Emperor Titus 's Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) , Roman soldiers nailed innumerable Jewish captives to crosses in various ways. At times the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex . This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing
10710-475: The header of the future Kingdom and that a number of criteria- the criterion of multiple attestation and criterion of dissimilarity - establishes the crucifixion of Jesus as an enemy of state. Although almost all ancient sources relating to crucifixion are literary, in 1968, an archeological discovery just northeast of Jerusalem uncovered the body of a crucified man dated to the 1st century, which provided good confirmatory evidence that crucifixions occurred during
10836-471: The historical Jesus, the baptism of Jesus and his crucifixion are considered to be the two most certain historical facts about Jesus. Various criteria are used to determine the historicity of the elements of the New Testamentical narratives, and help to establish the crucifixion of Jesus as a historical event. The criterion of embarrassment argues that Christians would not have invented
10962-588: The historicity of the crucifixion, but contend that Jesus did not foretell his own crucifixion and that his prediction of the crucifixion is a "church creation". On the other hand, Michael Patrick Barber argues that the Historical Jesus predicted his violent death. Tucker Ferda argues that the Historical Jesus did believe he might die. Geza Vermes also views the crucifixion as a historical event, but provides his own explanation and background for it. Bart Ehrman states that Jesus portrayed himself as
11088-461: The horizontal beam ( patibulum in Latin ) to the place of execution, but not necessarily the whole cross. During the death march, the prisoner, probably still nude after the scourging, would be led through the most crowded streets bearing a titulus – a sign board proclaiming the prisoner's name and crime. Upon arrival at the place of execution, selected to be especially public, the convict would be stripped of any remaining clothing, then nailed to
11214-646: The letter T. According to William Barclay , because tau is shaped exactly like the crux commissa and represented the number 300, "wherever the fathers came across the number 300 in the Old Testament they took it to be a mystical prefiguring of the cross of Christ". The earliest example, written around the late 1st century, is the Epistle of Barnabas , with another example being Clement of Alexandria ( c. 150 – c. 215). Justin Martyr ( c. 100 – c. 165 ) sees
11340-404: The maximum deterrent effect. Corpses of the crucified were typically left on the crosses to decompose and be eaten by animals. Islam spread in a region where many societies, including the Persian and Roman empires, had used crucifixion to punish traitors, rebels, robbers and criminal slaves. The Qur'an refers to crucifixion in six passages, of which the most significant for later legal developments
11466-421: The middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails." The assumption of the use of a two-beamed cross does not determine the number of nails used in the crucifixion and some theories suggest three nails while others suggest four nails. Throughout history, larger numbers of nails have been hypothesized, at times as high as 14 nails. These variations are also present in the artistic depictions of
11592-774: The mother of Zebedee's children. Although a group of women is mentioned in Luke, neither is named. The Gospel of John speaks of women present, among them the mother of Jesus , Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas. Aside from these women, the three Synoptic Gospels speak of the presence of others: "the chief priests, with the scribes and elders", two crucified criminals, to Jesus's right and left, "the soldiers", "the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus", passers-by, "bystanders", "the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle", and "his acquaintances". The two criminals are described as λῃσταί (variously translated as robbers, rebels or thieves) and further discussed in
11718-651: The nail touch him." The Jewish king Alexander Jannaeus , king of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE, crucified 800 rebels, said to be Pharisees , in the middle of Jerusalem. Alexander the Great is reputed to have crucified 2,000 survivors from his siege of the Phoenician city of Tyre , as well as the doctor who unsuccessfully treated Alexander's lifelong friend Hephaestion . Some historians have also conjectured that Alexander crucified Callisthenes , his official historian and biographer, for objecting to Alexander's adoption of
11844-421: The nails or by the scourging that often preceded crucifixion, or from stabbing by the guards. Since death does not follow immediately on crucifixion, survival after a short period of crucifixion is possible, as in the case of those who choose each year as a devotional practice to be non-lethally crucified. There is an ancient record of one person who survived a crucifixion that was intended to be lethal, but
11970-572: The normal weekly Sabbath. Some have argued that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, not Friday, on the grounds of the mention of "three days and three nights" in Matthew 12:40 before his resurrection, celebrated on Sunday. Others have countered by saying that this ignores the Jewish idiom by which a "day and night" may refer to any part of a 24-hour period, that the expression in Matthew is idiomatic, not
12096-453: The only specific female crucifixions that are documented is that of Ida, a freedwoman (former slave) who was crucified by order of Tiberius. Crucifixion was typically carried out by specialized teams, consisting of a commanding centurion and his soldiers. First, the condemned would be stripped naked and scourged. This would cause the person to lose a large amount of blood, and approach a state of shock . The convict then usually had to carry
12222-585: The outrage or by Athenian deference to local feeling." Some Christian theologians , beginning with Paul of Tarsus writing in Galatians 3:13 , have interpreted an allusion to crucifixion in Deuteronomy 21:22–23 . This reference is to being hanged from a tree, and may be associated with lynching or traditional hanging. However, Rabbinic law limited capital punishment to just 4 methods of execution: stoning, burning, strangulation, and decapitation, while
12348-425: The painful death of their leader. The criterion of multiple attestation is the confirmation by more than one source, including multiple non-Christian sources, and the criterion of coherence argues that it fits with other historical elements. Although scholars agree on the historicity of the crucifixion, they differ on the reason and context for it. For example, both E. P. Sanders and Paula Fredriksen support
12474-523: The passage in Deuteronomy was interpreted as an obligation to hang the corpse on a tree as a form of deterrence. The fragmentary Aramaic Testament of Levi (DSS 4Q541) interprets in column 6: "God ... (partially legible)- will set ... right errors. ... (partially legible)- He will judge ... revealed sins. Investigate and seek and know how Jonah wept. Thus, you shall not destroy the weak by wasting away or by ... (partially legible)- crucifixion ... Let not
12600-448: The period of crucifixion to three days. Crucifixion involves affixing or impaling the body to a beam or a tree trunk. Various minority opinions also prescribed crucifixion as punishment for a number of other crimes. Cases of crucifixion under most of the legally prescribed categories have been recorded in the history of Islam, and prolonged exposure of crucified bodies was especially common for political and religious opponents. Crucifixion
12726-445: The persecution of Christians by Nero and stated ( Annals 15.44 ) that Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus: Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. Scholars generally consider
12852-537: The person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club , an act called crurifragium , which was also frequently applied without crucifixion to slaves. This act hastened the death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. Constantine the Great , the first Christian emperor , abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire in 337 out of veneration for Jesus Christ , its most famous victim. Crucifixion
12978-462: The purpose of taking the person's weight off the wrists, is sometimes included in representations of the crucifixion of Jesus but is not discussed in ancient sources. Some scholars interpret the Alexamenos graffito ( c. 200 ), the earliest surviving depiction of the crucifixion, as including such a foot-rest. Ancient sources also mention the sedile , a small seat attached to the front of
13104-466: The question of the equivalence of the identities of Yeshu and Jesus has at times been debated, many historians agree that the above 2nd-century passage is likely to be about Jesus, Peter Schäfer stating that there can be no doubt that this narrative of the execution in the Talmud refers to Jesus of Nazareth. Robert Van Voorst states that the Sanhedrin 43a reference to Jesus can be confirmed not only from
13230-528: The reaction of the multitudes who left "beating their breasts", and the women preparing spices and ointments before resting on the Sabbath. John is also the only one to refer to the request that the legs be broken and the soldier's subsequent piercing of Jesus's side (as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy), as well as that Nicodemus assisted Joseph with burial. According to the First Epistle to
13356-699: The reference itself, but from the context that surrounds it. Sanhedrin 43a relates that Yeshu had been condemned to death by the royal government of Judaea – this lineage was stripped of all legal authority upon Herod the Great 's ascension to the throne in 37 BC, meaning the execution had to have taken place close to 40 years before Jesus was even born. Muslims maintain that Jesus was not crucified and that those who thought they had killed him had mistakenly killed Judas Iscariot , Simon of Cyrene , or someone else in his place. They hold this belief based on various interpretations of Quran 4:157–158 , which states: "they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it
13482-557: The skeleton from Giv'at ha-Mivtar was the only confirmed example of ancient crucifixion in the archaeological record. A second set of skeletal remains with holes transverse through the calcaneum heel bones, found in 2007, could be a second archaeological record of crucifixion. The find in Cambridgeshire ( United Kingdom ) in November 2017 of the remains of the heel bone of a (probably enslaved) man with an iron nail through it,
13608-520: The third recovered. Josephus gives no details of the method or duration of the crucifixion of his three friends. Crucifixion (or impalement), in one form or another, was used by Persians , Carthaginians , and among the Greeks, the Macedonians . The Greeks were generally opposed to performing crucifixions. However, in his Histories , ix.120–122, Greek writer Herodotus describes the execution of
13734-515: The upright stake. The 'nails' were tapered iron spikes approximately 13 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in) long, with a square shaft 10 millimetres ( 3 ⁄ 8 in) across. The titulus would also be fastened to the cross to notify onlookers of the person's name and crime as they hung on the cross, further maximizing the public impact. There may have been considerable variation in the position in which prisoners were nailed to their crosses and how their bodies were supported while they died. Seneca
13860-459: The verse or for their combination (which Sadakat Kadri has called "Islam's equivalent of the hanging, drawing and quartering that medieval Europeans inflicted on traitors") is subject to "complex and contested rules" in classical jurisprudence. Most scholars required crucifixion for highway robbery combined with murder, while others allowed execution by other methods for this scenario. The main methods of crucifixion are: Most classical jurists limit
13986-418: The vertical. The test subjects had no difficulty breathing during experiments, but did suffer rapidly increasing pain, which is consistent with the Roman use of crucifixion to achieve a prolonged, agonizing death. However, Zugibe's positioning of the test subjects necessarily did not precisely replicate the conditions of historical crucifixion. In 2023, an analysis of medical literature concluded that asphyxiation
14112-503: The victim had died, and were known to precipitate death by means of deliberate fracturing of the tibia and/or fibula, spear stab wounds into the heart, sharp blows to the front of the chest, or a smoking fire built at the foot of the cross to asphyxiate the victim." The Romans sometimes broke the prisoner's legs to hasten death and usually forbade burial. On the other hand, the person was often deliberately kept alive as long as possible to prolong their suffering and humiliation, so as to provide
14238-415: The walls of Jerusalem and out of anger and hatred amused themselves by nailing them in different positions. In some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg (300 lb), but the crossbeam would not be as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg (100 lb). The Roman historian Tacitus records that the city of Rome had
14364-419: The wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" The Gospel of Luke has Jesus address these women as "daughters of Jerusalem", thus distinguishing them from the women whom the same gospel describes as "the women who had followed him from Galilee" and who were present at his crucifixion. Traditionally, the path that Jesus took is called Via Dolorosa ( Latin for "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering") and
14490-598: The word, i.e., the place of "a skull". While often referred to as "Mount Calvary", it was more likely a small hill or rocky knoll. The traditional site, inside what is now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter of the Old City , has been attested since the 4th century. A second site (commonly referred to as Gordon's Calvary ), located further north of the Old City near
14616-406: The year of the crucifixion, including the canonical Gospels, the chronology of the life of Paul, as well as different astronomical models. Scholars have provided estimates in the range AD 30–33, with Rainer Riesner stating that "the fourteenth of Nisan (7 April) of the year 30 AD is, apparently in the opinion of the majority of contemporary scholars as well, far and away the most likely date of
14742-408: Was available, and time was often approximated to the closest three-hour period. The three Synoptic Gospels refer to a man called Simon of Cyrene whom the Roman soldiers order to carry the cross after Jesus initially carries it but then collapses, while the Gospel of John just says that Jesus "bears" his own cross. Luke's gospel also describes an interaction between Jesus and the women among
14868-491: Was dead already. Each gospel has its own account of Jesus's last words, seven statements altogether. In the Synoptic Gospels , various supernatural events accompany the crucifixion, including darkness , an earthquake, the tearing of the sanctuary's veil and the resurrection of saints (in the Gospel of Matthew). Following Jesus's death, his body was removed from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and buried in
14994-488: Was endorsed but not written by Barclay. In 2008 Saint Andrew Press began taking the content of the New Daily Study Bibles and producing pocket-sized thematic titles called Insights . The Insights books are introduced by contemporary authors, broadcasters and scholars, including Nick Baines and Diane-Louise Jordan . Barclay wrote many other popular books, always drawing on scholarship but written in
15120-566: Was generally performed within Ancient Rome as a means to dissuade others from perpetrating similar crimes, with victims sometimes left on display after death as a warning. Crucifixion was intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful (hence the term excruciating , literally "out of crucifying"), gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and period. One hypothesis suggested that
15246-465: Was intended to be a gruesome spectacle: the most painful and humiliating death imaginable. It was used to punish slaves , pirates , and enemies of the state. It was originally reserved for slaves (hence still called "supplicium servile" by Seneca), and later extended to citizens of the lower classes ( humiliores ). The victims of crucifixion were stripped naked and put on public display while they were slowly tortured to death so that they would serve as
15372-404: Was interrupted. Josephus recounts: I saw many captives crucified, and remembered three of them as my former acquaintances. I was very sorry at this in my mind, and went with tears in my eyes to Titus, and told him of them; so he immediately commanded them to be taken down, and to have the greatest care taken of them, in order to their recovery; yet two of them died under the physician's hands, while
15498-570: Was introduced into Japan during the Sengoku period (1467–1573), after a 350-year period with no capital punishment. It is believed to have been suggested to the Japanese by the introduction of Christianity into the region, although similar types of punishment had been used as early as the Kamakura period . Known in Japanese as haritsuke ( 磔 ) , crucifixion was used in Japan before and during
15624-439: Was made to appear to them [or it appeared so unto them], ... Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself". Some early Christian Gnostic sects, believing Jesus did not have a physical substance, denied that he was crucified. In response, Ignatius of Antioch insisted that Jesus was truly born and was truly crucified and wrote that those who held that Jesus only seemed to suffer only seemed to be Christians. In scholarship on
15750-410: Was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross . It occurred in 1st-century Judaea , most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels , referred to in the New Testament epistles , and later attested to by other ancient sources . Scholars nearly universally accept the historicity of Jesus's crucifixion, although there is no consensus on the details. According to
15876-466: Was the traditional two-beamed cross, the Jehovah's Witnesses hold the view that a single upright stake was used. The Greek and Latin words used in the earliest Christian writings are ambiguous. The Koine Greek terms used in the New Testament are stauros ( σταυρός ) and xylon ( ξύλον ). The latter means wood (a live tree, timber or an object constructed of wood); in earlier forms of Greek,
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